Tag:

Mystery & Detective

Review

The Dead Can’t Make a Living

by Brian Kenney

This fifth installment in the Taipei Night Market series is a heartfelt crime novel that reaches deep into the lives of a rich collection of characters, all of whom have some sort of relationship with young Jing-nan, the owner of the most successful food stand in the market. It starts off when Jing-nan is throwing out the garbage only to find a corpse propped up against the dumpsters. Who is this man? He turns out to be Juan Ramos, a Philippine national who came to Taipei to work in ZHD, a vast, exploitative food-processing plant. Within days, Ramos’s family arrives, seeking an explanation. Was his death a cover-up? Curiously, Jing-nan’s gangster uncle, Big Eye, also becomes fascinated by what could be going down at ZHD. In one of the most compelling episodes in the series, Jing-nan goes to work at ZHD undercover, posing as a migrant laborer. Serious work, but Jing-nan brings along plenty of humor while still following the lives of undocumented immigrants and their living conditions.

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Review

Booking for Trouble

by Danise Hoover

Library budgets are always under threat, but coastal Connecticut’s Briar Creek Library is under major assault from a new cost-cutting member of the town council. In a move to better integrate the library in the community, Director Lindsey Norris comes up with the idea for a book-boat. It’s like a bookmobile, only on the water, and is able to serve the small islands that surround the town. The boat’s early outings are successful until Lindsey discovers the body of a woman who’s not a friend of the library. All sorts of old family feuds; issues with a snobby, exclusive club; and artistic rivalries are brought to the forefront. Excessive meanness and greed seem to be taking over the once charming and welcoming community, and though the police are capable, the wrong person is arrested. As in many situations, it takes a librarian to save the day and bring order back to the situation. A fun, easy, and friendly read.

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Review

Such a Perfect Family

by Henrietta Thornton

Tavish Advani has found an idyllic new life. He’s newly arrived in New Zealand, having eagerly left Los Angeles to live with the love of his life, Diya Prasad, in her home country. But Tavish can’t leave behind a dogged LA cop’s suspicion that he caused the deaths of several women he was involved with there. When a fire consumes the lavish home he lives in with Diya and her wealthy doctor parents, is he responsible? The savvy local police officer assigned to the case thinks so. Case notes by that officer and the LA cop who still suspects Tavish of murder are sprinkled throughout the story of the young man’s desperate efforts to clear his name and will lead readers to think that the legal picture doesn’t look so good for him. But as the details of Diya’s earlier life with her family and their friends unspools, a toxicity emerges that makes things far less clear cut. A suffocating family is perfectly drawn here, and Tavish’s early life has its own surprises; with the brilliant twists bestselling Singh drops in, it all adds up to a gripping tale.

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Review

A Field Guide to Murder

by Brian Kenney

A recent widower, Harry Lancaster spends most of his time at home, nursing a fractured hip. Entertainment comes in the form of some Rear Window-like spying on his neighbors—affluent, suburban Ohio seniors have more going on than you might imagine—and his growing friendship with Emma, his millennial and funloving caregiver. Harry and Emma may not always see eye-to-eye. Harry is an anthropologist (thus the book’s title) while Emma is a nurse, but they make a powerful team. So when Harry’s neighbor Sue is murdered in her home, the two are able to quickly pair up and pursue Sue’s murderer. But the plot hardly ends there, with Harry calling up old friends for help, Emma debating whether to go ahead and marry her fiancé, and a cold-blooded killer circling Harry’s condo. This cross-generational cozy-but-with-murder is sure to delight readers of Deanna Raybourn and Richard Osman.

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Review

Away to Me

by Danise Hoover

George, beloved sheepdog trainer, was shot and killed while standing in an open field, not an accident, but murder. Maddie McGowan, his friend and protégée who’s still recovering from her own traumatic past, is devastated by his loss. She has a PhD in animal behavior and works with problem dogs in her small Wisconsin town: dogs that bite the mailman, are terrorized by thunder, etc. But while her connection with animals is strong, her way with people…not so much. She bonds with a shelter dog that is near death, recognizing his K-9 training, though he is unclaimed by law enforcement. There is a connection to illegal drugs, and despite threats and outright attacks, she can’t step back. Maddie is an admirable character, strong and determined, willing to sacrifice all for her animals, finding the solution in the end. There’s something special about a mystery that introduces readers to a subject they know nothing about. McConnell offers an enjoyable story and—bonus!—knowledge of sheepdogs that you never knew you were missing.

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Review

The List of Suspicious Things

by Dodie Ownes

Miv lives in a small Yorkshire town that sadly has been plagued with heinous murders of women, by a killer dubbed the Ripper, for many months. She and her bestie, Sharon, profile the likely suspects in town and end up finding out more than they would ever want to know—and it’s a lot for a pair of 12-year-old girls: regional pride, racism, mental illness, marital issues, pedophilia, fascism. The issues are astonishing in breadth and all so present, while the proper citizens mind their own business. Miv and Sharon’s close observations collide with a racist neighbor who appears to be targeting their friends Ishtiaq and Omar Bashir, leading readers to believe that they are closing in on identifying the Ripper as well. Godfrey builds an authentic small-town community, with Aunty Jean helping hide “the problem” (depression) with her sister Marian, Miv’s mother, who is essentially non-existent for most of the book. Miv sees the perfect family, the Wares, fall apart, while helping the town librarian, Mrs. Andrews, escape from her abusive husband. The mystery builds with chapters ending with annotations for The List, Miv’s profile for each suspect. As each heartbreaking truth is revealed, Sharon and Miv’s relationship begins to crumble, with readers wondering, along with Sharon, if finding the Ripper has become an obsession. There’s a lot packed in here. But the dizzying feeling Godfrey creates with all the reveals from the adults, who are shockingly less than perfect, makes this a great read for adults and young adults ready to have their neighborhood suspicions confirmed.

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Review

Vows and Villainy

by Danise Hoover

There is not a moment wasted in this cozy mystery that combines stately homes, joyful weddings, and acting troupes. The dead body appears in the first sentence. Molly Kimball, our transplanted Vermont librarian turned bookseller, is as usual in the middle of it all. Sir Nigel, famed Shakespearean actor, is found floating in the moat, posed like Ophelia. The police are of course efficient and on top of all the details, but don’t seem to mind being handed the occasional tidbit that Molly is able to ferret out. As it turns out, Sir Nigel was being sued for the death of a student whom he supposedly tormented. There is much going on to prepare for the two scheduled weddings and the theatrical performances to be held throughout the summer. Family issues and casting rivalries all must be sorted without missing important pre-wedding pampering. As to be expected, all is solved in plenty of time so as not to disrupt the festivities. Friendly characters and lovely weather make for a relaxing read.

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Review

Silent Bones

by Willy Williams

Book of the Week September 11, 2025

When a mudslide blocks a highway near Edinburgh, the debris also exposes a skeleton with a damaged skull, indicating signs of murder. Detective Inspector Karen Pitrie and her Police Scotland Historic Crimes Unit are called in to investigate. It’s spring 2025, five years after the traumatic COVID-related events of Past Lying. Research indicates that the skeleton, soon identified as that of freelance journalist Sam Nimmo, was buried back in 2014 when the road was constructed. At that time, Nimmo was the prime suspect in the killing of his pregnant girlfriend. Was his death an act of vengeance? Or was his investigation into a possible sex scandal connected to the 2014 referendum for Scottish independence the motivating factor? Pirie and her team also probe the so-called accidental death of a hotel manager with ties to a mysterious book club called Justified Sinners, whose members are wealthy, entitled men. Flavoring her writing with colorful Scottish slang, McDermid combines compelling, intricate plotting with strong character development. It’s nice to see DC Jason Murray developing his sleuthing skills and confidence under Karen’s patient mentoring, while talented but impulsive DS Daisy Mortimer occasionally still irritates her boss. The unsettled ending may disappoint some readers (real life is not always so neatly tied up), but McDermid’s passion for justice shines through.

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Review

The Italian Secret

by Danise Hoover

In a spectacular example of a post-war noir novel we have Billie Walker, a hardboiled PI following in her father’s tradition, with her specialty helping women out of terrible marriages by finding evidence of infidelity. The Sydney, Australia PI has a loyal and supportive staff, an attractive police officer to back her up, and a mystery in her background. In her father’s files, she finds an old picture, taken in an Italian town near Naples, of him, another woman, and a young girl. There follows the suspicious death of a client, a sea voyage with her mother to Naples, vendettas, the search for her father’s other family, and a deadly chase through the tunnels under the city. This is non-stop action, with an authenticity of mood, clothing, travel detail, and attitude that makes it special.

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Review

Guilt

by Brian Kenney

A brilliant novel that at first seems to be a simple murder case but grows into an expansive investigation of the nature of crime and its outcomes. Higashino is best known for his Detective Kaga and Detective Galileo series, and this is the first in his Detective Godai series to be translated into English. Godai, a member of the Tokyo Police Department, is investigating the death of a lawyer, Kensuke Shiraishi, whose body was found on a Tokyo riverbank. From there the story leads to Tatsuro Kuraki, said to have had some relationship with Shiraishi, who confesses to both the lawyer’s murder and another killing from 30 years ago. You would think this would wrap up the narrative, which is complex, albeit completely readable. But no, the story moves on, with new players, more motives, and a shocking conclusion. What a delight it is for English-speaking readers to have a new novel from Higashino.

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